Windows Explorer tweaking advice?

[spiritpyre]

Here are some fixes/tweaks/shell extensions that people have helped me find/I've come across/and a few I've made:

Examples # 1-3 (from left to right)

#1) Remove "Print" item from the context menu(s) of files:Remove_Print_on_Context_Menu.zip (updated 7-28-05)

- now "remove print from text-based files menu" actually works

- included additional tweaks to remove print from .pdf & internet shortcuts (thanks to Bold_Fortune & war59312)

#2) Context Menu Extensions:

[.REG versions (only work in "all files" & "folder" menus):]

select_all.zip

browserback.zip

(you can get improved versions of these if you follow the link below)

<span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'><edit 8/04/05> released some "real" shell extensions: here</span>

#3 Details View Extension:

FolderSize on Details View Columns (thanks to Zxian!):

#4) "Toggle Button" Extensions (for "Hidden Files" & "File Ext's"):

Work In Progress

- Original goal was to make a shell extension that determined the current value of either setting and "toggle" it to its opposite value, then refresh the file system/view (aka Windows Explorer). It was (hopefully) to be implemented as a custom button on the Windows Explorer toolbar.

- <updated 7-28-05> I plan on spending some time find a better way to refresh. If I can find a way to make this work with the current window, I then would like to find a way to make it refresh all "instances"/windows of explorer.

- The other problem is that I haven't been able to find any information on HOW to add custom toolbar buttons to explorer. If you see my post on the next page, I have inlcuded links to several programs I have found that either add their own custom button or a custom toolbar to explorer. One solution I am considering is using Drop Bar to implement the buttons. I'll look into it later (maybe I'll figure it out once I get a chance to study the source from Drop Bar) after I'm happy with the Refresh method. Currently, I'm working with this project as a context menu (FolderBackground) and I plan I releasing it as such once I fix the refresh and i'm waiting on the button extension. togglebutton.jpg

Any one feel free to jump in here: Even though I've surprised myself with how much I've been able to figure out, I'll take all the help I can get.

<edit> 6-04-07: sorry but most of the original links were dead. I've gone through and removed the bad links (I left orange text behind), but the only file that I still had was the remove print from context menu. I uploaded that, but as for the rest you have 2 choices: 1) opt for one of my shell extensions (see my sig) or 2) build a simple script or exe (I recommend AutoIt) and add a registry entry to lauch said script or exe. I used to do things the 2nd way when I first started, but have more or less abandoned this approach in favor of the 1st way.

Edited June 5, 2007 by spiritpyre

[Zxian]

I'm not too sure about #1,2, or 4, but for #3 have a look here. It's a simple add on that gives you the size of your folders as well as files. Not sure if that's what you were after.

I'd find it really useful to have a custom toolbar icon that would show/hide hidden files. It's probably along the same lines as #4, but a little bit different.

Cheers!

[spiritpyre]

that's for the link, that's exactly what I was looking for.

Yeah, I'm sure it would be very similar. I think it could be done simply by having a program (for hidden files or for file exts) that checks the current registry value a simply reverses it. but then i would still need to know how to make explorer use a custom button and how to link the button to the program/script.

=========================

other resources:

MSDN Shell Extension handlers

Wildcard Select (open source) ... not actually used just something cool i ran across

#2: Adding a "Select All" object to the context menu for folder backgrounds

selectall.exe is just a compiled AutoIt script with 1 line:

Send("^a")

<edit 7-29-05> note the above refers to the .REG version that calls a compiled script.

Edited July 29, 2005 by spiritpyre

[Zxian]

Glad to be of help. B)

1 down, 3 to go!

Btw... I love your custom member title and avatar... hilarious doesn't cover it!

[spiritpyre]

Btw... I love your custom member title and avatar... hilarious doesn't cover it!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

thanks

[spiritpyre]

Target #4: Adding a "toggle button" to Windows Explorer's (or as MS calls it "File manager") Toolbar (to either Show/Hide Ext.'s or Hidden Files)

Progress: Found a link "here" that talks about someone trying to add a toggle button to explorer toolbar for Hide/Show Hidden Files. I'm gonna see if I can find a registry location for custom buttons but like I said it might be a while before I get the time, if it's that simple (i hope it is but i doubt it...) then I might be able to get away with a name, command, and icon... This article might be of some use if its not a reg. value.

Remaining: My fledgling vb skills don't help much with the code in the link and I haven't had time to try it out and they don't say for sure if they actually got it to work or not... Oh and I have to find time to test if this might be feasible via a registry value. I'm guessing that getting the button to appear on the toolbar is like 90% of the work, the rest should be relatively easy via a batch file that would check the registry value in question and act accordingly to "reverse" the value.

Other

Any ideas/links/advice/{constructive} critism/help/etc. are welcome whether its about the topic or "you should have post this under {somewhere else}"

Edited June 7, 2005 by spiritpyre

[spiritpyre]

1 down, 3 to go!

now its 3 down, 1 to go!

[Zxian]

Thanks for the updates! The print setting is a nice find!

As for the "File Manager" extension, I'll have to see if I can play with Visual C++ a bit to get what you want. It shouldn't be that hard once I've got the basics sorted out. I don't know how much time I'll have for this though...

[spiritpyre]

was just replying in another thread and this might be a bit harder than I originally thought. Basically if we want a toggle button that instantly toggles some part of the UI then we're gonna need to get a bit more advanced than using reg tweaks.

btw I'm still game for this but I'm prolly gonna need to find time to refresh my memory w/ VisC++ and do quite a bit of reading @ shell programming. but the more of a b**** something is to do, the better I feel if I actually manage to pull it off

Edited June 18, 2005 by spiritpyre

[Aegis]

Custom buttons are possible with Explorer (I think). There was this Powertoy for Internet Explorer that added files to trusted/untrusted zones. I'm sure you can modify it to change another registry key instead and to work with Explorer. The file is available as an IE5 powertoy.

[spiritpyre]

*msdn links that might be related:

Toolbar Controls Overview

File Manager Extensions at MSDN

*links that verify explorer button extensions ARE possible:

bxNewFolder (look @ screenshot) (or its sister software "Folder Box Pro" .. watch demo and skip to frame 33/42)

The Deubox OmniTome

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New Newer Newest Update (8/04/05):

Progress:

- SelectAll Extension (Folder Background Menu)....DONE!

- BrowserBack Extension (Folder Background Menu)....DONE!

- FileExt. Toggle Extension (Folder Background Menu)....SEE BELOW

- HiddenFile Toggle Extension (Folder Background Menu)....SEE BELOW

FileExt & HiddenFiles:

- released with a (hopefully) temporary "refresh" method (see first post in this thread)

- Looking into the possibility of writing directly to explorer's cached File Ext setting if possible. Otherwise, I still need a way to refresh explorer (preferably globably but if I can refresh one window using a message, I should be able to enumerate the rest...i.e. send the message to each window in turn).

I've noticed that hitting F5 ("Refresh" hotkey) and/or using View | refresh does absolutely nothing BUT when I use the "Refresh" item on the Folder-Background context menu that DOES work... for that window (but NOT on the other 5 copies of Windows Explorer that I have open).

Edited August 4, 2005 by spiritpyre